THE CRIMINAL PROCESSES AND PLEA-BARGAINING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The plea-bargaining process is a commendable prosecutorial device to resolve political corruption cases, withoutthe rigors of adversarial trials. However, because plea-bargaining operates against the backdrop of the extantlaws and socio-political conditions in any given society, the device must be facilitated by a criminal process thatovercomes these conditions. The legal and socio-political conditions peculiar to Nigeria include abuse ofprosecutorial discretion, political interference, and the overbearing influence of politically exposed persons whohave ways and means to thwart criminal prosecutions. Consequently, it is difficult for any of the known models ofthe criminal process to effectively facilitate a plea-bargaining process which establishes the truth of charges toavert the likelihood of convicting the innocent and determine appropriate and proportional penalties. Hence theneed for a new model of criminal process that will facilitate an effective plea-bargaining process in Nigeria, withintegrity.